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Canadian national identity - from a curions American
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

D.D. wrote:
TheUrbanMyth wrote:
D.D. wrote:

Canadian customs thinks canada is so great that they treat you very badly if you spend to many years outside canada. I think this sums up how the average canadian thinks canada is the best country. So when i return to visit i get treated like crap by some people and customs because I must be confused to not spend so much time in canada.

.


You certainly sound confused. No, Canada Customs officials do not treat you very badly if you spend too many years outside of Canada. I have spent 10 years outside and each of the three occasions I've returned I was never treated like "crap".


Heh I was just relating my experience. How does that make me confused?

.


You said it not me...I was just agreeing with you.
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D.D.



Joined: 29 May 2008

PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheUrbanMyth wrote:
D.D. wrote:
TheUrbanMyth wrote:
D.D. wrote:

Canadian customs thinks canada is so great that they treat you very badly if you spend to many years outside canada. I think this sums up how the average canadian thinks canada is the best country. So when i return to visit i get treated like crap by some people and customs because I must be confused to not spend so much time in canada.

.


You certainly sound confused. No, Canada Customs officials do not treat you very badly if you spend too many years outside of Canada. I have spent 10 years outside and each of the three occasions I've returned I was never treated like "crap".


Heh I was just relating my experience. How does that make me confused?

.


You said it not me...I was just agreeing with you.


huh? now I am confused as I didnt think someone calling another confused and doubting their experience as agreeing with the person. I thought agreeing meant two people shared the same view . Thanks for clearing up all my confusion fellow canuck. It must be all those years away from the amazing canadian people that has confused my brain.
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littlelisa



Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Underwaterbob wrote:
Canada doesn't have much, if any, of a uniform national identity. It's the second largest country in the world, the 36th most populous, very culturally diverse and a mere 143 years old. A lobster fishing east coaster has little in common with a Quebecois businessman has little in common with a Torontonian Muslim Imam has little in common with an Albertan oil baron. Give us another hundred years and three times the population and maybe some kind of congruity will pop up.


I agree with this. I am happy to be Canadian (read: not a separatist), but really, I can't think of anything particularly Canadian...

I like to call myself a Montrealer.
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Seoulio



Joined: 02 Jan 2010

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

littlelisa wrote:
Underwaterbob wrote:
Canada doesn't have much, if any, of a uniform national identity. It's the second largest country in the world, the 36th most populous, very culturally diverse and a mere 143 years old. A lobster fishing east coaster has little in common with a Quebecois businessman has little in common with a Torontonian Muslim Imam has little in common with an Albertan oil baron. Give us another hundred years and three times the population and maybe some kind of congruity will pop up.


I agree with this. I am happy to be Canadian (read: not a separatist), but really, I can't think of anything particularly Canadian...

I like to call myself a Montrealer.


Lacrosse, maple syrup, hockey, the maple leaf, "eh"

I can't really name anything particularilly American, particularily Britis or Particularily German either, so not sure if that really says much
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conrad2



Joined: 05 Nov 2009

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few Canadians on this thread have stated matter of factly that Canadians are smarter than Americans. There are a few things Canadians are known for: niceness, cold weather, maple syrup. Intelligence in not one of them.
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NYC_Gal



Joined: 08 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seoulio wrote:

Lacrosse, maple syrup, hockey, the maple leaf, "eh"

I can't really name anything particularilly American, particularily Britis or Particularily German either, so not sure if that really says much


Cowboys, apple pie, jazz, blues, baseball, and Microsoft spell check. It's particularly. You spelled it wrong thrice�the first time even worse than the second and third. I'm fairly sure that disqualifies it as a typo.

Also, feel free to thank us for rolled toilet paper. I'm sure using torn-out catalog pages was just LOVELY.
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chellovek



Joined: 29 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seoulio wrote:
littlelisa wrote:
Underwaterbob wrote:
Canada doesn't have much, if any, of a uniform national identity. It's the second largest country in the world, the 36th most populous, very culturally diverse and a mere 143 years old. A lobster fishing east coaster has little in common with a Quebecois businessman has little in common with a Torontonian Muslim Imam has little in common with an Albertan oil baron. Give us another hundred years and three times the population and maybe some kind of congruity will pop up.


I agree with this. I am happy to be Canadian (read: not a separatist), but really, I can't think of anything particularly Canadian...

I like to call myself a Montrealer.


Lacrosse, maple syrup, hockey, the maple leaf, "eh"

I can't really name anything particularilly American, particularily Britis or Particularily German either, so not sure if that really says much


I vaguely agree.

In a rather banal globalised culture, there sure as hell isn't much that is particularly anything anymore. Claiming this, that, or the other as being some special preserve or characterisitc of one particular national identity is pointless given the cross-pollination in progress, not just in the present but historically too.

I just find it really tragic and laughable when people start quoting really quite mundane things as forming some special part of a national identity. To my mind it just further emphasises how banal some people/cultures have become.

In furtherance I'd say people, especially educated ones with degrees and who supposedly have some breadth of vision and intellect, should try and get over tub-thumping for national identities and realise that it's all codswallop in the end. Transcend such narrowness of vision and whathaveyou.
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D.D.



Joined: 29 May 2008

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw this guy bring a friggin two litre jug of clamato juice to the bar and was pouring it in his and his mates beer. It was like his way to keep his identity during his culture shock. Every word that came out of his mouth was just canadian group speak. It's funny how canadians claim identity from things like clamato juice, tim hortons, ect.

Imagine walking around a big city with a two litre jug of clamato juice and sitting it on a table in a pub just to show others one is different.

The longer I am away from canada the more I notice how similar the ideas that come out of canadians mouths are. This is true for most countries and it's funny to watch how the people think they have original ideas.

Many canadians just have similar programing and its sad to see that people identify with their programing as being who they are.
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Captain Corea



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D.D. wrote:
Captain Corea wrote:
TheUrbanMyth wrote:
D.D. wrote:

Canadian customs thinks canada is so great that they treat you very badly if you spend to many years outside canada. I think this sums up how the average canadian thinks canada is the best country. So when i return to visit i get treated like crap by some people and customs because I must be confused to not spend so much time in canada.

.


You certainly sound confused. No, Canada Customs officials do not treat you very badly if you spend too many years outside of Canada. I have spent 10 years outside and each of the three occasions I've returned I was never treated like "crap".


Agreed, they've always said 'welcome home' to me. And I've been gone for about 10 years as well.


After one canadian challenges your attack on canada then his buddy will also back him up to make sure that the group think stays in place.

remember canada is great and nobody must challenge this thought.


Just so I'm clear on this...

It's ok for you to share you experiences as a Canadian going through Canadian Immi, but when others do, and it runs counter to your argument, they are all of a sudden part of some agenda??

WTF kind of reasoning is that?
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Seoulio



Joined: 02 Jan 2010

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NYC_Gal wrote:
Seoulio wrote:

Lacrosse, maple syrup, hockey, the maple leaf, "eh"

I can't really name anything particularilly American, particularily Britis or Particularily German either, so not sure if that really says much


Cowboys, apple pie, jazz, blues, baseball, and Microsoft spell check. It's particularly. You spelled it wrong thrice�the first time even worse than the second and third. I'm fairly sure that disqualifies it as a typo.

Also, feel free to thank us for rolled toilet paper. I'm sure using torn-out catalog pages was just LOVELY.


Ok NYC Gal , we have had this discussion before and I am NOT getting into it with you again.,

It's possible had I actually looked it would have appeared wrong, but then again maybe not.

I could easilly point out that Apple Pie and Baseball originated in England, and that the modern version of Baseball was actually first played in Canada and not America,

but seeing as though you were insinuating that these are a part of the American "Identity", i can forgive both of these.

Just as you know darn well what word I was using without going back into spelling Nazi mode.

As for thanking Americans for toilet paper, no thanks, thats ONE Person,an individual that did that, and he borrowed from a previous idea and just made it better.

Are you going to thank Canadians for basketball? the Telephone ( thats right invented by a scotsman residing in Canada for decades), the garbage bag, the pacemaker, Imax, heart valve surgery, insulin production, kerosene, newsprint, the walkie talkie, the snowblower, or the zipper?
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NYC_Gal



Joined: 08 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seoulio wrote:

Ok NYC Gal , we have had this discussion before and I am NOT getting into it with you again.,

It's possible had I actually looked it would have appeared wrong, but then again maybe not.

I could easilly point out that Apple Pie and Baseball originated in England, and that the modern version of Baseball was actually first played in Canada and not America,

but seeing as though you were insinuating that these are a part of the American "Identity", i can forgive both of these.

Just as you know darn well what word I was using without going back into spelling Nazi mode.

As for thanking Americans for toilet paper, no thanks, thats ONE Person,an individual that did that, and he borrowed from a previous idea and just made it better.

Are you going to thank Canadians for basketball? the Telephone ( thats right invented by a scotsman residing in Canada for decades), the garbage bag, the pacemaker, Imax, heart valve surgery, insulin production, kerosene, newsprint, the walkie talkie, the snowblower, or the zipper?


EVERY idea is borrowed from a previous one and improved upon. That's civilization in a nutshell! You go enjoy that catalog paper Laughing

As for your spelling, well, I'm having fun with you. We've had this argument before. I'm in that kind of mood today.

I have thanked Canadians for Basketball (on Dave's!). Actually, it was this week Smile It's my favorite game. It was during a soccer thread, I believe. It was also invented by Dr. James Naismith, who is an individual.

The garbage bag was invented by Harry Wasylyk and Larry Hansen. 2 people. By your logic, Canada shouldn't take credit.

As for Baseball: The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery. It contains a rhymed description of "base-ball" and a woodcut that shows a field set-up somewhat similar to the modern game�though in a triangular rather than diamond configuration, and with posts instead of ground-level bases.[5] English lawyer William Bray recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford, Surrey; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008.[6] This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by English immigrants; rounders was also brought to the continent by both British and Irish immigrants. The first known American reference to baseball appears in a 1791 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, town bylaw prohibiting the playing of the game near the town's new meeting house.[7] By 1796, a version of the game was well-known enough to earn a mention in a German scholar's book on popular pastimes. As described by Johann Gutsmuths, "englische Base-ball" involved a contest between two teams, in which "the batter has three attempts to hit the ball while at the home plate"; only one out was required to retire a side.[8]

England. Not Canada. England. And we then improved it, making it the great sport that it is (or at least was until steroids).

I've tried English apple pie. It's not the same. Their crumble is nice, but we call that apple crisp.

Anyway, loads of individuals (and groups) have invented things in the states. Does that make them NOT American inventions? Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_inventions
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Janny



Joined: 02 Jul 2008
Location: all over the place

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Imagine walking around a big city with a two litre jug of clamato juice and sitting it on a table in a pub just to show others one is different.


When you're heading out to get drunk... who cares? Oh, right...you do.

BTW..clamato juice is awesome. Don't knock it.

I'm 100% sure the guy didn't give a chap about "showing others he's different"...he just wanted to pour clamato juice into their beer because it tastes great. Kudos to people who don't go around wondering "oh my God am I gonna look stupid carrying around my big bottle of clamato...?? Oh jeepers creepers!"

Quote:
The longer I am away from canada the more I notice how similar the ideas that come out of canadians mouths are. This is true for most countries and it's funny to watch how the people think they have original ideas.


I might substitute "America" for "canada" and "Americans" for "canadians" (noticed I used my capital letters to show respect through punctuation...HA MORE CANADIAN 'I'M SMARTER THAN YOU' BULLCFAP!!) Anyway, the substitutions would stand and this would ring true. "The people think they have original ideas"???? WTF are you talking about? You're just mocking everyone in Canada now on this narrow parameter of "creative thinking ability"? Think before you post, man.


Quote:
Many canadians just have similar programing and its sad to see that people identify with their programing as being who they are.


You have quite the crazy outlook there DD. However, I'm too tired to try to explain how stupid this sounds. HINT: Do YOU identify with your 'programming'? Answer that.
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peppermint



Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Despite Seoulio's best efforts, I don't think there is a coherent Canadian culture that can be epitomized in a few iconic objects or images, except maybe hockey. I don't know of anyone who plays lacrosse, or says "eh" down east, and maple trees are more of an Upper Canada thing. Americans describe their country as a melting pot, and Canada is better described as a mosaic- lots of distinct pieces pushed together. It's not easy to unify 30 million people with wildly different backgrounds scattered over such a vast landscape.

As much as I loathe Margaret Atwood's writing, I think she was on to something when she said that the central theme of Canada's national identity is survival. There's a certain amount of pride in realizing that you can survive, and thrive despite the challenges of this place.


Last edited by peppermint on Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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chellovek



Joined: 29 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I've tried English apple pie. It's not the same. Their crumble is nice, but we call that apple crisp.


Laughing

Apple pie being claimed for national identity.

Banal.
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DaeguKid



Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Location: Daegu

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Canada is just great. No comparisons. No "we are better than you".

As a whole, it is a nice place, full of nice people. We just want to be happy. Have a pension. Have medical coverage. Spend time with family and friends at a cottage. Feel secure.

We don't want to be in wars that we have no business being in. We are happy for the Canadians who are successful both in America and globally and proud of them. Wayne Gretzky is god, not only because he dominated our national pastime, but he did so with grace and a humble attitude.

I try to do my best to care less about comparing ourselves to other countries, but at times it can be hard when you live abroad. With that said, I came across this clip a few months back. To the Americans, and Canadians, you will most likely learn something here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_041oYDjg

But we are a gullable bunch....we think there is an American city heading under water! See below Wink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZUsCONjIQ


Anyhow, happy Canada Day, Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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